Chasing After Death
by AGuyWhoUsedToWrite
Summary: Everyone knows that you're not suppose to chase after death. That's just common sense but when you're Harry Potter, everything becomes irrelevant when you're a man on a mission. AU. Somewhat Crackpot.
1. Chapter 1

Welcome to _Chasing After Death_.

Summary: _Everyone knows that you're not suppose to chase after death. That's just common sense but when you're Harry Potter, everything becomes irrelevant when you're a man on a mission. AU HPxHG_

This story will be updated after every other chapter for my other story, _Holding onto Hope._ Each chapter will be around 5k words give or take. Reviews are welcomed.

Edit: As Nanashi113 pointed out, UK doesn't have the fifth amendment but it's still recognized everywhere else in the world. Outside the US, they refer to it as the Right to Silence. From what I research, it's the same concept so for this story, I'll be leaving it as it is because Harry's well verse in all parts of the world due to his new job. Thank you Nanashi113 for pointing that out to me. Always learning something new.

* * *

 _London Heathrow Airport - Hanger 3_

"I'm sooo bored." Harry muttered out loud. "I can't even fathom how..." He paused and looked down at his name tag. "... Earl makes it through each day. I would've probably gone all voldemorty after an hour..."

Sitting inside Earl's office, Harry twirled around in his uncomfortable office chair, completely bored out of his mind. "I can understand the skill set needed to smuggle items... I really do but can't they just be on time?" He whined. "This is just plain rude."

Ever since his informant told him that a highly valuable and dangerous artifact from Russia would be smuggled into London today, Harry spent the last three hours waiting in this man's office.

So far, he hasn't seen anything that was worth smuggling in. Sure the things that came into this hanger was questionable at best... Wild exotic animals... Some art pieces... even a few coffins but none of that was on his list.

Not today anyway.

Today, he was after the lost scepter of Grigori Rasputin. According to legends, this scepter was a dark artifact that grants the wielder unimaginable powers which was why he was here. He couldn't let it fall into the wrong hands. One crazy lunatic was more than enough for him. The world didn't need a second one but ultimately, he just didn't want to deal with it.

Let it be someone else's problem. That was his mantra.

Harry sighed for the umpteen time as he watched the entrance from the window. "I'm going to kill that blonde git if nothing happens today..."

Just as those words left his mouth, the doors to the side of the hanger blew open, causing everyone to look around with a mixture of shock and surprise. A dozen men rushed through the smoke, dressed in dark color robes. Harry looked up and instantly recognized them. How can he not? He spent a year in their ranks before transferring out of that department. Every witch and wizard knew who these people were.

They were the British Aurors. The magical law enforcement of the wizarding world. The laughing stock to everywhere else in the world.

Harry let out a small groan and ducked down. He quickly cast a disillusion charm on himself and tried to sneak out of the office. Why did they have to come here today of all days? He was silently cursing at his own luck.

"Nobody move!" Someone shouted through the commotion. "We received a report about a possible threat here. Muggles to one side and everyone else stay where they are."

"Who are you guys? Is this some kind of role playing fetish thing? If it is, count us out because we didn't sign up for that. Not our cuppa tea to be honest."

Harry snickered at the confused looks that the Aurors were giving. This is why he left. They were a bunch of clowns that couldn't even tell their left hand from their right. It was an embarrassment to even be associated with them.

"Something funny Potter?" A hoarse voice whispered from behind Harry. His eyes widened, surprise that someone saw through his disillusion charm.

"Potter? What is a Potter?" Harry answered, pretending to be a muggle. "My name is Earl... McAirporty..."

"Cut the bullshit Potter. I know it's you. I know we taught you better than that to cast a disillusion charm. Now turn around slowly and don't make any sudden moves."

Harry sighed and turned around. He then recognized who it was. "Donovan MacBay. I thought I smelled something rotten in here."

Donovan rolled his eyes and dispelled the charm. He pointed his wand at Harry and narrowed his eyes. "Why did you do it Potter?" He asked, shaking his head. "I always knew you were a self-center, egotistic bastard but to betray your own country? That's a new low even for you."

"Don't forget destroyer of Voldeshorts." Harry replied, eyeing the glasses on MacBay's face. "Everyone keeps forgetting that but I'll let it slide just this once. So what's this about me betraying a country? I know it's only Tuesday but I'm having a slow week. I believe I have treason listed for Thursday..."

"Always with the jokes aren't you Potter. Well the joke's on you now. We have you on two counts of treason and conspiracy to overthrow the ministry. Azkaban's going to look real nice."

Harry started laughing and then pointed at the glasses on MacBay's face. "I'm sorry, I know you're trying to be serious here but you have got to take off those stupid charmed glasses. They make you look smarter than you really are. You're going to confuse a lot of people by wearing that."

Donovan growled and ripped the glasses off his face. "Cummins! Gather the boys and arrest Potter. If he pulls any kind of weird shit, stun him."

"You were always a kiss ass Donovan. Always willing to suck up to get what you want. Always willing to take handouts... Always willing to be my bitch." Harry said, smirking. "I know this is the part where I should be protesting about my innocence but I won't. I know the procedure just as well as you do so I'm going to demand that you show me the evidence."

"We don't have to show you shit Potter!" Donovan angrily responded. He backhand Harry across the face, breathing heavily as he glared at him. How dare he insult him in front of his own men! "Go ahead, resist Potter. You're going to make this all that sweeter."

Harry rubbed the right side of his cheek and just stared at the man. He quickly pulled out his own wand and pointed at Donovan. "Depulso!" Harry whispered.

Donovan flinched and held up his hands to protect his face, knowing that Potter cast a banishing charm at him. He looked up in surprise to see that he was still standing there, except that he felt a light tap on his cheek.

"Did you just... slap me?" Donovan asked incredulously. "So the rumors are true... you lost your magic Potter." Laughter soon erupted from his lips and the rest of his men joined in shortly. "This is like a dream come true. The mighty Harry Potter, the vanquisher of the dark lord... is no stronger than a mere first year! When word gets out, your reputation will be ruined!"

"So what?" Harry answered, grunting as he felt Donovan's men slap handcuffs on his wrist. "Magic is overrated."

Donovan leaned forward, close enough into Harry's personal space. "Don't act so high and mighty. I'm going to make sure that you never see the outside of a cell ah-"

Not letting Donovan finish that sentence, Harry took a step forward and without warning, he slammed his head against Donovan's nose, effectively head-butting him. There was a small smile on his face when he heard the bone break.

A high pitch scream escaped from Donovan's lips as blood dripped from his nose. "Get him!" He shouted as he staggered back.

Harry stood there, with his hands handcuffed behind his back. He looked around and noticed the hesitation from Donovan's men. He felt like he should say something clever during this moment. "Any chance we can be friends and you guys just forget this ever happened?"

The Aurors looked at him awkwardly. "We have our orders Mister Potter. We're only doing our jobs." Cummins answered, moving closer to get a hold of Harry. "We hope you understand..."

"No hard feelings right?" Harry asked.

"No hard feelings sir." A random man that Harry couldn't remember replied. "Why are you smiling sir? You're about to be arrested."

"That's because I'm Harry freaking Potter rookie." Harry answered with a big smile on his face. "I don't lose." He jumped into the air and pulled his arms forward, so that it was now in their normal position, minus the handcuffs. With reflexes that he honed from hours of training, he quickly dispatched all of Donovan's men. He turned his attention to the whimpering man that was on the floor. Harry slowly walked to him, a predatory smile on his face.

"St-stay back Po-potter!" Donovan stuttered. "You won't get away with this. You assaulted a team of Aurors..."

Harry sighed and held his arms out. "Then I surrender."

* * *

 _Ministry Integration Room XV_

"We know you did it Harry. We have credible sources that puts you in the center of this conspiracy. We have you dead to rights but what we don't understand is why. Why would someone of your stature commit such a stupid and heinous crime?"

"I plead the fifth." Harry answered, leaning back into his uncomfortable chair. So far, he was two for two with chairs today. First with Earl's office and now in this interrogation room. When he gets out of here, he's going to be writing a very stern letter to several people about the importance of having office chairs with lumbar support.

After all, we're not savages. We're magical folks and there's a standard that we should always be meeting. Having better chairs is one of them.

A pair of hands slammed themselves into the metal table, shifting Harry's focus back to the present. "Help me help you Harry. If you can't give me anything to work with, then there's nothing we can do to help you."

"I plead the fifth." Harry replied with the same answer again. After the first ten questions, he noticed that his interrogator whom shall be known as Mr. Shifty, started to develop a twitch with his left eye. Ever since then, he created a game for himself to see just how long it would take for Mr. Shifty to break. It was all amusing really. If they only bothered to read his file, they would have known that anything short of using curses would make him talk.

It secretly made him proud about how high his pain tolerance is.

"I'm not the enemy here Harry. I'm on your side. Give me something so that I can help you." Mr. Shifty asked once more. Harry could make out the desperation in his voice. He looked past his interrogator and winked at the glass window. He knew that there were people standing behind there watching this. Hell, he stood on the other side as well.

"I plead the..."

"Fifth!" Mr. Shifty shouted, slamming his hands against the metal table again. "I get it already Harry! I get it! Okay, let's do an easy one. Have you gone dark?"

"I plead the fifth."

Mr. Shifty yelled and walked over to the glass, banging his head against it. "Let me use Veritaserum already. Just have someone pass it through the door and you guys can leave. I won't tell. I promise!"

Harry smiled to himself. Harry - One. Mr. Failed Interrogator - Zero.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Kingsley shouted as he ran into the room. "Has everyone gone insane? I have fifteen different reporters hounding my office asking me why Harry Potter was hauled into the ministry this morning in handcuffs! There better be an excellent reason for this!"

Mr. Shifty took several steps back, frightened at being yelled at by the minister of magic. Harry snickered at the man's predicament.

"It was my call Minister Shacklebolt." Donovan said, quickly strolling into the room. "We had a credible source that swears that Harry was involved in a plan that involved overthrowing the government."

Kingsley sighed and rubbed his temples. "I know you're just doing your job MacBay but I'm going to ask you one very simple question and that answer better be yes. Did you... or did you not... verify your source before pursuing Mr. Potter here?"

At the moment, Donovan MacBay knew he was screwed. When the tip fell into his lap, it was like someone gave him the best gift he could ever asked for and it wasn't even his birthday. All he wanted to do was to take Potter down a peg. To show everyone that there was nothing special about him but by not double checking his facts, he found himself digging a very deep hole.

His eyes shifted and locked onto the only other person in the room. "Jones! Answer the minister!"

Mr. Shifty nee Jones looked up with widened eyes, like a deer caught in headlights. "Wh-what sir?"

Kingsley watched this and noticed the smirk on Harry's face. "Let him go MacBay. I have everything that I need to know so just release Mr. Potter and see me in my office later."

"Yes sir..." Donovan quietly answered. He reluctantly took out the keys and released Harry. "This just proves that you're nothing but a waste of department funding Potter. You should have stayed in the Aurors. At least with us, you could have made a difference like the other golden boy but instead, you chose to throw your life away for something idiotic. I hope it was worth it."

Harry massaged his wrists once the cuffs came off. He stood up and smiled at Donovan. "It's always worth it when I'm pissing someone off." Harry said before slamming his head against Donovan's nose again.

"Son of a bitch! He broke it again!" Donovan cried out, staggering backwards and falling down. "Did anyone see that!? Potter just struck me! I'll have your ass thrown in jail if that's the last thing that I do!"

"Take your superior officer out of here Jones!" Kingsley shouted.

Jones quickly nodded and ran out of the room with Donovan by his side who was screaming profanities the entire way.

"What am I going to do with you Harry?" Kingsley sadly shook his head. "You can't go around injuring my Aurors like that. He's going to be pressing charges you know."

"You used to be fun Kingsley." Harry replied, still smiling at his friend. "We had such good times before. Let's not let something like that piece of shit get between us."

"I'm the minister of magic you know. I can't always be sweeping your messes under the rug."

Harry laughed, "You make it sound like I'm a walking time bomb. I don't always make messes."

"What about that incident in Cairo? Or Shanghai?"

"First off, Cairo was not my fault and that animal was a stray. No one was going to miss it and secondly, Shanghai, okay, technically that was my fault. No one told me I couldn't blow up that bomb."

Kingsley closed his eyes and plugged his fingers into his ear. "I am not hearing any of this Harry. I am not hearing you incriminate yourself in front of the minister of magic."

* * *

 _Ministry, Third floor_

While Kingsley had his eyes close and started mumbling incoherent words, Harry took it as his cue to leave. He figured that since he was in the Ministry anyway, he might as well torture one of his favorite people.

"Hello my faithful servant." Harry deeply whispered as he sneaked up behind an unsuspecting Draco Malfoy. "Your lord requires assistance."

Draco quickly spun around in his chair and leaped up. "God damn it Potter! I told you never to do that to me. What are you doing here anyway? Last I heard, you were being thrown in jail."

"Nothing but rumors." Harry answered, already biting into the second half of the sandwich. "Really? A vegetarian sandwich? What is the matter with you Draco? Why can't you get something normal like a turkey club or a BLT?"

"Says the moocher." Draco muttered, sitting back down in his seat. "Go away Potter. It's bad enough that I have Weasley as my superior but to have you here as well? I'm trying to enjoy my lunch, not vomit."

"Now now Draco. Deny it all you want but you know as well as I do that we're ..." Harry lowered his voice and then looked around before smiling. "Friends."

Draco rolled his eyes and shoved Harry off his desk. "Oh spare me the dramatics. You haven't been in the country for more than a few days in the last three years. I would say that we're acquaintances at best."

"What can I say? I'm a busy man now that I'm no longer an Auror. Running your own department is very time consuming. You know my offer still stands Draco. That position for my number two is yours if you want it."

"I see no difference if I'm working for you or that idiot Weasley." Draco dryly replied. "I'm just trading in one idiotic boss for another. That's not a good enough incentive so if you will excuse me, some of us have some real work to do."

Harry rolled his eyes, "What happened to the old Draco from Hogwarts? Now that guy was fun..."

"That guy is sitting right here Potter. Now get out of here. I have several cases that I need to write up..." Draco answered, pulling up several files. Any thoughts about lunch was long forgotten.

"Wait. What was that?" Harry suddenly said, his hands quickly grabbing one of the case files. He narrowed his eyes as he flipped through the pages and then pulled out several pictures. "Where were these taken Draco?"

Draco snatched the pictures back. "Scotland Potter. Three different homicides in one night. Our people are telling us that our victims were smugglers, pretty good ones too. If you meet their price, they'll smuggle anything for you. Drugs... Women... anything you want but their particular area of expertise were in lost artifacts. I don't think it's a coincidence but I haven't found a concrete link yet. It's only been a few days and no one has stepped forward to claim credit for these kills."

"Those symbols..." Harry answered, trying to recall where he last saw it. "I've seen them before..."

"The one that was carved into their chest? I don't know Potter. It looks like random stab marks to me but if you want access to the files, you know who you have to see."

Harry nodded and grabbed the pictures once more. "Where is he right now?"

"In your old office of course." Draco answered. He watched as Harry walked away and decided to follow him. Whatever he found, it might be more interesting than doing paperwork but he knew one thing that Potter didn't. This was Weasley's private time and he made that clear to everyone that he was not to be disturbed. Of course everyone in the office knew what was going on in there. Everyone except for Harry and that filled Draco with a happiness that money couldn't buy.

Harry held the pictures tightly in his hands as he walked through the building. He knew where to go. It was his office first after all. The countless hours and late nights that were spent in there... it would take a large blow to his head to make him forget where it was.

"Ron!" Harry shouted as he forcefully opened the door.

"Harry?"

"What the hell mate!?"

"My eyes! My bloody eyes! I'm going blind!"

Several voices screamed from inside the office and Draco just started laughing. He strolled into the office and found the mighty Harry Potter on the floor, rolling around as his hands tried to rub the image out of his eyes. He happily stood by the entrance, content with just being an observer for now.

"My innocent eyes." Harry moaned. "They did nothing to deserve this. They were just victims in this crime of passion and you just made me an accessory Ron! An accessory! How could you!? What about Hermione? I love you mate but I can't lie to her about this. She'll kill us both when she finds out and I'm too young to die!"

Ron rolled his eyes. "For crying out loud, open your eyes Harry. It wasn't like I was shagging Lavender in front of you."

"Hi Harry." Lavender waved when Harry finally forced his eyes open. "Long time no see."

"And for your information, Hermione and I broke up years ago. It was actually a few months after you left mate. I just couldn't bring myself to tell you with a letter and since you were never in London... I sort of forgot about it."

Harry glared at his best friend. "So my eyes had to suffer because of your forgetfulness? Thanks a lot Ronald Bilius Weasley."

Ron sighed. "What are you even doing here Harry? Last I heard, you were off running around somewhere in Russia tracking down some stolen artifacts."

"Not anymore. I'm here because I need access to the department files. Something about these pictures doesn't sit right with me."

"I can't give you access Harry. You know that. Only Aurors have access to those files."

"Then give me Draco. You can never have too many scapegoats lying around." Harry said, smirking at the now frowning Draco.

Draco soon saw all three sets of eyes staring at him. "Uh... I have some paperwork that I ne-"

"Take him and get out." Ron interrupted. "Just make sure that those three cases are on my desk by the end of the week Malfoy."

"Also make sure you bring him back in one piece Harry." Lavender replied on top.

Harry mock saluted and grabbed Draco on the way out. "I'll make sure nothing much happens to him."

"What is so important about these murders Potter?" Draco asked as they went back to his desk. "Is this related to something that you're working on?"

"Something like that..." Harry answered, holding up those pictures again. His finger pointed towards the symbol that was carved into each of the man's chest. "I remember those symbols now. These are the symbols associated with death. Each culture has a similar symbol but it's easily recognizable. The Japanese refers to it as the Shinigami. The Egyptians referred to him as Anubis. The Greeks called him Thanatos and so forth but what I'm trying to say is that the face of death changes based on where you are in the world but the meaning remains the same."

"And you believe this crude drawing of what looks like a scythe to be the symbol of death?"

"Yes. I'm positive this is it."

Draco paused for a moment, trying to let what Harry told him sink in. He stared at the pictures and the more he looked at it, the more Potter's explanation started to make sense to him. That itself made him want to re-examine his head. "Let's just say hypothetically you're right. Why would anyone go to such lengths to do it? Is the person trying to send a message and if so, what could it be?"

"It's a message, no doubt about that."

This was not a coincidence. Whoever was doing this was definitely trying to get his attention... and they succeeded. Ever since his battle with Voldemort, he's been having dreams... visions... about death. Not about dying of course. They were about death herself. At first, she would be standing there, smiling at him while her black cloak blew in the wind and Harry would just wave back awkwardly.

It never went further than that but recently, the dreams started to last longer but what scared him the most was that death started to speak to him. Now Harry was not a religious man. Not by a long shot but when death starts to talk, he was going to listen.

 _The gates between the living and the dead is about to be open Harry Potter... As the master of death, it is your responsibility to make sure that does not happen. The answers that you've been searching for lie with death. Find me and all your questions will finally make sense._

That was why Harry was stalking out at the airport. When his source told him about a dark artifact, he immediately jumped at the chance. He wasted months searching for anything related to dark magic and death and the scepter was the first thing to pop up over the course of several months. It would have gone according to plan except that Donovan MacBay had to get in the middle of it.

Donovan 'Broken Nose' MacBay. Now that was a catchy nickname. Much cooler than Boy-Who-Lived.

"How do you feel like going on an adventure Draco?" Harry suddenly asked.

Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry. "Will it kill me?"

"Quite possibly."

"Will I need to lie to my wife about this?"

"You're married?" Harry asked, surprised by the news. "Who is the unlucky woman?"

"If you must know, it's Astoria Greengrass."

"In that case, yes. Lie to her. If she ask why you're late, lie. If she ask why you have a red lipstick on your shirt. You lie like your life depended on it."

"Why do I need to lie to my wife Potter and why did you even need to know?"

"Because in the event of your untimely death, I want her to know that she can come to me for anything Draco." Harry said, winking. "That's what a friend does. He offers his shoulders to the widow."

"You're a bastard. You know that Potter?"

"I never said I wasn't one."

* * *

 _Ministry Sub Basement Level X_

"Remind me why you couldn't have just portkey here?" Draco asked. "Your magical abilities are off the charts. Surely something as easy as making a portkey would have been faster than us walking..."

"It's those damn magic dampening handcuffs earlier. They took more out of me than I anticipated." Harry said, lying through his teeth. "Besides your wife will thank me for making you exercise. When's the last time you did some fieldwork anyway? I think I see a little gut showing."

"Shut it Potter or I'll let MacBay know that you're still here."

"Someone's sensitive." Harry muttered. He unconsciously grabbed his wand, full well knowing that there was no such thing as magic dampening handcuffs. He just couldn't bring himself to tell Draco or anyone else for that matter that he was weaker than before. That was the reason why he left the Aurors in the first place. He didn't have the magical abilities to continue to be one.

Something happened to him after he took down Voldemort. The evil bastard muttered something with his last breathe and Harry felt a slight chill afterwards. He didn't pay much attention to it because he assumed it was just fatigue from the battle. Weeks went by and that's when he noticed that his magic wasn't the same as before but that didn't deter him from completing the Auror academy with Ron.

It was a few months after his graduation that he started to pay attention to his own magical core. He discovered that while his core was back normal, he was unable to cast any of his stronger, more destructive spells. It was like someone put a barrier in front of his magic and said you're done Harry. No more powerful and crazy spells for you.

"What can I do for you Mister Malfoy and... Mister Potter... What a surprise. I didn't expect you to come down here after you left the Aurors."

"Hello Croaker." Harry greeted. "How are you?"

"What can I do for you gentlemen today?" Croaker asked, ignoring Harry's greeting and getting straight to the point.

"I was wondering if we can borrow everything that you have on death."

"If you feel the need to die Mister Potter, please do it someplace else. We are the Department of Mysteries, not a dumpsite for bodies." Croaker sternly answered. "And we do not encourage suicides..."

Harry rolled his eyes. "You misinterpreted my question. I'm not looking for ways to die per say. I'm looking for what you know about death itself. We want to investigate her."

The pronoun that Harry used caught the other two men by surprise. "Death is a... she?" Croaker asked. "Why would you even label a gender to that?"

"What kind of sick fetish are you involved with now Potter? You know what, I don't even want to know." Draco also quickly answered. "How do I get off this crazy boat?"

"Shut it Draco." Harry muttered. "Do you or do you not have anything Croaker? This is the Department of Mysteries after all. I'm positive you have something about everything down here."

"We may have something Mister Potter. Do you want us to send a copy of everything we have to... an office somewhere?"

"Nah." Harry answered, waving his hand nonchalantly. "Just send it to Draco's desk."

"You'll have it within the hour." Croaker replied and started to walk away. After a few steps, he stopped and turned his head. "A warning Mister Potter... Death is not to be taken lightly. If you're going to do what I think you're going to do, I would make sure that you don't drag poor Mister Malfoy here with you."

"What does he mean by that Potter?" Draco asked, his eyes widened. He turned to Harry who looked surprised as well and then back to the unspeakable who was already gone. "If I die Potter, I swear I'm going to come back and haunt you for an eternity. Everywhere you go, I'm going to be right there. If you're in the shower, I'm there. If you're making love, I'm going to be right there. There won't be a place that you can hide from me!"

"When did you become such a drama queen?" Harry retorted. "And why is your badge buzzing? I thought you were on desk duty."

Draco ignored Harry and turned over his Auror badge. His eyes quickly skimmed through it and put the badge away. "Not a big deal. Your old buddy Granger reported a break-in at her apartment. They're sending a few Aurors over to check it out."

Harry's face quickly went pale. "We have to get over there right now Draco!"

"What for? It's just a break-in. She's fine Potter. Stop worrying."

"You don't understand you idiot. She has one of the artifacts of death!"

* * *

Leave me a review!


	2. Chapter 2

Gah, this chapter got away from me, word count wise anyway. I wrote more than I originally intended. Two weeks this chapter has been worked on but I hope this answers some of the questions that you may have while reading the first chapter. Reviews are certainly welcomed.

Just out of curiosity, what platform is everyone reading their stories on? More curious about reading stuff on your phone.

* * *

 _Ministry Sub Basement Level X_

"We're not going anywhere until you explain to me what is so important about this artifact Potter." Draco demanded. "You know what, I'm not even going to call it an artifact because knowing you, it's probably a cheap knockoff that you found in an alleyway somewhere."

Harry gasped. "Are you seriously questioning my credibility here? Do I need to remind you that you are talking to the head of regulations for magical artifacts? And don't you dare say it's a made-up department because it's not." He argued. "I'm slightly offended that you would even say something like that. Do I come over to your department and criticize the way you guys investigate and solve crimes?"

"Yes!" Draco shouted. "You do it every time you come back from overseas. There are even owls from you telling everyone just how incompetent of a job we're doing!"

"Well excuse me for trying to mentor the next generation of Aurors." Harry replied sarcastically. "Honestly Draco, I would love nothing more than to stand here and chitchat with you but I have an appointment to keep." He started to walk away but before he could make a run for the door, several ropes bounded themselves to his body. One look and he immediately recognized the Incarcerous spell.

He struggled for a second and then frowned. "I'm really flattered Draco but what would your wife say? I don't think I have it in me to be your mistress on the side... or am I considered the mister... or master...?" Harry pondered. "Whatever the case, I say we let Astoria have the final say."

"First off, you're never going to meet her. I will murder you in cold blood before I even let you come close to our house." Draco ignored the mock hurt look on Harry's face. "Oh you'll get over it Potter. Secondly, you're going to tell me what this artifact is and how it involves you."

"Just so you know, this is harassment and don't think for a moment that I won't speak to our union rep about your unprofessional behavior."

"You are really trying my patience here." Draco pointed his wand at Harry again, tightening the ropes. "Pretty soon, we're going to find out exactly just how much pressure it's going to take in order to split a person in half... "

Harry twist and turned in an attempt to break the ropes but the more he struggled, the tighter it got. "God damn it. Alright fine! Just cancel the spell before you break my ribs you sadistic bastard."

Draco lowered his wand slightly but he didn't put it away. "Talk. Tell me why you're so obsess with this."

"Before I say anything, I need to know how committed you are to this because whatever is coming... it's something that no one has ever faced before. We're going to be standing in the front lines staring in the face of danger and maybe spitting at it. Who knows, I haven't really decided yet but it's definitely going to be dangerous. If you want out, then you need to walk away now and I swear that I won't think any less of you but if you want in, you need to be able to trust me."

"Stop trying to make a big deal out of this Potter. How can that possibly be? Wizards have been around since the time of Merlin and if he hasn't faced whatever dangers you're referring to, then no one has." Draco asked. "Are you sure this isn't just about stolen artifacts?"

"In or out."

Draco gritted his teeth. He wanted to make the easier choice and call Potter a liar but there was this voice in the back of his mind telling him not to dismiss him. "Fine! Alright!" He pocketed his wand after cancelling the spell. "Don't make me regret this or else I swear I'm going to hang you by your thumbs."

"I swear on Merlin's long braided beard."

"Potter..." Draco growled. "Stop messing around and just tell me. What's got you so spooked?"

"You would be scared too if you found out that someone is trying to get Death's attention. That's what all those murders were about. They were trying to communicate with death and I'm afraid that they're slowly succeeding. I don't know what their intentions are but I can assure you that whatever it is, it's going be on a biblical scale. If you thought the war with Voldelocks was rough, wait until you see what Death has planned for us because I can promise you that when Death walks the streets of London, she won't be walking it alone."

"Are you sure about this?" Draco whispered. "Oh god. If that's true, we need to alert everyone. The Aurors, the Minister... my wife!" His eyes suddenly widened when he felt a stinging sensation on his cheek. "What the hell was that for?! Why did you just slap me?"

"You were hyperventilating and I needed you to regain control of yourself but more importantly, I wanted to slap you. Now stop freaking out Draco. You're only allowed to panic when I tell you it's time to panic so until then, we have work to do."

"You're right. You're absolutely right." Draco conceded. "I never thought I would see the day where I would be agreeing with you Potter."

"The day's still young Draco but enough stalling. We need to get out of here." Harry instructed. "We'll swing by Hermione's place to make sure everything is alright first."

"So it's true then. You weren't lying when you said she has one of those artifacts."

Harry nodded. "Why would I lie about that? She's one of very few people that I trust."

"So let me understand you correctly. Instead of locking up those dangerous artifacts in our secured vaults, guarded by hundreds of Aurors, you decided to passed them off as innocent gifts to your friends whom I assume are aware of what you gave them right?" Draco asked. "Tell me you warned them about the dangers Potter. Even you couldn't be this irresponsible."

"It was more of a need to know basis... and they did not need to know about hidden compartment within their ordinary, mundane gift..."

"Oh that's bloody brilliant. What's next? Do you want every child to be unsupervised while riding their first broom?"

"Look, in my defense, how was I supposed to know that some other lunatic was going to come up with an asinine plan like this? It's not like I have a subscription to Villians Monthly."

"Spare me the excuses Potter." Draco grumbled. "I can't believe that the key to surviving this hellish nightmare depends on a few selective people. You better hope that they still have your gifts."

"Not a few people actually... It was just one person." Harry muttered. "I only gave it to Hermione and the rest was buried in an undisclosed location..."

"Of course it is. Maybe for Christmas, we should give out yearly subscriptions to Villians monthly to everyone. I'm sure it would be the perfect gift for anyone aspiring to be the next dark lord."

Harry suddenly stopped in his tracks. "Are you telling me that's a legit magazine? Holy crap, can you recommend me to the subscription committee? Just don't say it's for me though. Say it's for Earl McAirporty."

Draco then dropped the act and stared at him, worried that his life is in the hands of Harry Potter. "There is no such thing you idiot. Now come on. I still can't believe how irresponsible you are. Letting her hold onto such a dangerous item. Honestly Potter, you're no better than a child sometimes."

"Oh yeah? Can a child do this?!" Harry yelled as he jumped onto Draco a second before they apparated.

* * *

 _Outside Hermione's Apartment Complex in Central London_

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Draco screamed as they landed in front of Hermione's apartment. He dropped down to his knees and quickly checked to make sure that he still had all of his body parts. Once he was confident that he was in one piece, he turned his attention to his abrupt travel partner. "You could have splinched us into a million pieces!"

"Oh stop being a baby. What is the big deal anyway?" Harry said, dusting himself off. "People do side-alone all the time."

"That only works if the other person is aware of it!"

"Oh." Harry responded, unaffected by the death stare he was receiving from Draco. "Are you sure? That doesn't right to me."

"Just go away Potter. I need a few minutes to myself before I do something that lands me in Azkaban."

Harry shrugged his shoulders as he left Draco alone. The poor guy. He made a mental note to pick up some anxiety medication for him later because what kind of friend would he be if he didn't do something about it? Never let it be said that Harry Potter doesn't look out for others!

He walked up the stairs and saw an Auror standing by the door. They locked eyes for a split second and Harry nodded his head, trying to walk on through but the young man stepped into his path, denying him entrance. "I'm afraid I can't let you through Mister Potter. You're not authorize to enter."

Harry sighed. "Look if this is what happened earlier because of MacBay, we cleared it up. He apologized to me and promised that he's going to be a good little girl from now on."

"I don't know what you're talking about but only Aurors are allowed in right now. All other ministry personnel will be allowed in once we've concluded our investigation."

"Here." Harry tossed a shiny object at the Auror who easily caught it. "That should be more than enough to get me through."

The man's eyes widened when he recognized the object as a senior Auror's badge. "My apologies Mister Potter. Please come right in."

Harry smirked as he waltz through, not even bothering to take the badge back. He frowned as he looked around. The place was a mess. Whoever did this was in a hurry and didn't care about getting caught. Books were thrown off their shelves, paintings and pictures were ripped from the wall. He had a big hunch that whoever was in here was searching for one specific object...

"Hey Potter, have you seen my badge? I can't seem to find that damn thing." Draco's voice echoed through the hallway, interrupting Harry's thought. Knowing that Draco was going to yell at him for stealing his badge, he decided to make himself scarce. "Potter?"

When Draco didn't hear any kind of response from Harry, he naturally assume that he left it on his desk earlier but his mood quickly changed when he saw Jenkins fidgeting around with his badge. "Where the hell did you get that?"

"Mister Potter gave it to me. Told me that it was his." Jenkins stammered out. "I swear I didn't know it was yours sir."

"Of all the dumb shit..." Draco grumbled, snatching it back. "If you see Potter again, I want you to arrest him with extreme prejudice. Do you hear me Jenkins?"

"Not a problem sir. I will detain Mister Potter when I see him again."

"You're not listening Jenkins. I don't want you to detain him. I want you to arrest with him extreme prejudice! I want you to go at him like a nundu would go at their prey."

"Are you sure sir? I mean this is Harry Potter we're talking about. The man who saved us from the dark lord."

"Did I stutter?" Draco growled. "I don't care if he's Saint Nicholas himself. When I give you an order, you do it!"

Jenkins furiously nodded his head, not trusting his voice right now. He's said enough stupid things already.

"I swear if I see another person walk through this door, I'm going to neuter you." Draco threatened as he walked in past the trembling Auror. "Honestly, maybe Potter was right. We'll let anyone graduate from the academy these days..."

On the other side of the apartment, Harry already finished with his preliminary checks and decided to check on Hermione. He saw her standing outside in the balcony with a faraway look. He slowly opened the sliding doors and stepped outside.

"Hermione?"

Hermione was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't register the voice at first. Her mind just automatically responded to the voice. After what happened today, she just didn't have the energy to focus on anything else. She's heard stories about homes being burglarized but she never imagined it would happen to her. She was a witch for crying out loud.

"Oh thank god! You're alive! Are you okay?"

It took Hermione a few seconds to recognize those green eyes. "Harry...?" She slowly asked, uncertain if her mind was playing tricks on her. The last time she saw him was on that rainy night all those years ago before he left England... "What are you even doing here?!" She asked before getting pulled into a big hug. "I thought you were somewhere in Russia."

"That barren of a wasteland? No way. When I hear that my best friend's apartment gets broken into, I make it a top priority to get my butt back here to make sure you're okay."

"As you can see, I'm still in one piece you big oaf." Hermione said as she hugged him back. "Did you think something like that would scare me? Honestly Harry."

Harry held up his hands defensively. "Hey I know you can take care of yourself but that doesn't mean I can't check up on you."

"Did you find that blasted artifact yet Potter? Nothing in her apartment looks old enough. If she doesn't have it, I'm going to have to round up some resources to comb through her apartment." Draco called out as he entered the balcony. "Oh hello Granger. Glad to see that you're still alive."

"First Harry and now you... Why would the both of you be relief to see me alive?" Alarms started to go off in Hermione's mind. "What are you not telling me?"

"It's nothing." Harry lied, changing the subject. "Say Hermione, why don't we grab a pint and let the Aurors continue with their investigation? I'm positive that they won't turn this into a complete mess."

"I'm not going anywhere Harry. I want to know what you're really doing here." Hermione sternly asked. "And do not give me that bullshit about visiting me because we both know it's a lie."

"Well I..." Harry started off and then looked towards Draco for any kind of assistance. "He..." Draco merely smiled, obviously content with letting the scene play out. "loves dolls!"

Hermione let out a long, heavy sigh. "Even after all this time, you still have that bad habit Harry. I would think that after what we been through, we would be a lot closer than this... Maybe you should just leave Harry, at least you're good at that." She threw him a sympathetic look as she went back into the apartment, not even bothering to wait for his explanation.

Harry ignored her last remark and just leaned against the railing. This was not how he wanted their reunion in three years to go. He had this whole idea planned where he would swoop in to play the hero again but instead he crashed and burned.

"Why didn't I just keep the stupid artifact myself?" He muttered out loud. "This would have been so much easier."

"I think this is the part where I remind you once again that it was a dumb idea."

"You don't have to remind me you know."

"I know but I want to." Draco happily answered. "If my life is going to be hanging by a thread, I might as well make the most of it."

"Auror Malfoy. I think you should come see this." Another voice shouted from the apartment next door. "We found a body."

The two of them shared a look before they walked over. One of the Aurors led them inside where they saw the body mutilated in a hideous way. It was already beyond human recognition. "What the hell happened?" Draco asked, covering his mouth to prevent himself from puking. "Was he attacked by some sort of creature?"

"More like a pack of blood-thirsty wolves..." Harry muttered as he stared at the body. "Were we able to get an ID off our victim?"

The medical examiner shook his head. "No ID and I don't think any creature did this. Take a closer look at his body. Do you notice how those wounds were caused by an internal explosion of sorts? Like something just ruptured from the inside."

"Maybe it's some kind of curse..." Harry asked, his mind already going through several dark ones. "Perhaps a variant of the bone breaking curse."

"Possibly but what I want to show you next is this tattoo on his arm." The medical examiner proceeded to lift up the victim's sleeve, revealing the Dark Mark.

Harry crouched down to take a closer look. "That's very similar to Voldewart's mark but it's not quite the same. Could he have formed a secondary group that we don't know about?"

"That's not possible. When he died three years ago, all of his followers were either thrown in jail or hunted down."

"Maybe you guys missed one. You can't be too hard on yourself Draco. It happens to even the best of us."

"Oh shove it Potter." Draco retorted. He gently touched the tattoo and quickly pulled his finger back, almost as if it stung him. "The magic on this tattoo is different from the Dark Mark. I'm going to need to examine it before we move it to the morgue."

"Maybe I can assist..."

"No. You're not even an Auror anymore." Draco interrupted. "Let the professionals take over from here."

* * *

 _Inside Hermione's apartment, outside her room_

After being banished from the crime scene, Harry knew where he had to go. Every fiber in his being was telling him that if he left before patching things up, there was no coming back from this. She was never going to forgive him. As he approached her room, a little part of him was scared to knock on that door. His heart pounded against his chest each time he raised his fist. This was silly. He was a grown man and he was not going to let something as stupid as a door get the better of him.

He defeated Voldemort for crying out loud. He'll be damn if he let a door get the better of him.

"Can we talk Hermione?"

"We have nothing more to say to each other."

Harry frowned. He mentally scolded himself for thinking this would be easy. "Can I please come in?"

"You're a grown man Harry, you don't need me to tell you what to do anymore. If you want to come in, then come in."

Harry sighed as he slowly opened the door, wary of any incoming projectiles Hermione may throw at him. "I think there's a slight misunderstanding here..."

"There's no misunderstanding." Hermione asked. "You made yourself pretty clear."

"Come on Hermione, you know I have a tendency of putting my foot in my mouth. I'm sorry about earlier."

"Are you Harry?" Hermione asked, not even making an effort to look at him. She turned her body and just stared out the window. "I haven't seen you in three years Harry... with barely any communication between us. At best, we're just friends anyway. Why are you suddenly worried about my well-being?"

"Hermione... I..." Harry struggled to find the right words but he didn't know where to start. "I'm sorry... things are just complicated."

"When are they not?" She snapped. "I thought you would have changed Harry but you didn't. If anything, it seems like you're more withdrawn than ever."

"That's not true. I have Draco and he's a fantastic partner by the way. Why before we came here, we were just chatting about me coming over for dinner one of these nights. Would the old Harry have done something like that?"

"So the issue is with me then? Is there something about me that turns you off?"

"What? Of course not!" Harry quickly answered. "You're my best friend, everything about you turns me on!" He then paused, after replaying those words back in his head. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Then what is it? I'm trying to understand why you're so distant with me. We used to be so close back in Hogwarts but after we graduated... it seems like no matter how much I try to stay with you, you just drifted away from me."

"I was busy..." Harry weakly argued. "A lot of things happened to me since I graduated from the academy."

Hermione listened to Harry's explanation but it just felt like excuses. "It doesn't matter anymore Harry. You have your own life and I have mine."

"What do you want from me Hermione? Do you want me to give up my job?"

"Which job are you referring to? The Auror job that you quit from or the one that you never told me about?" Hermione retorted. "Yes Harry, I know about your latest career change and do you know how I found out? From the Daily Prophet!"

Harry winced and looked away. That one had to sting since Hermione was never a fan of that publication. She always referred to it as the trash that not even the seagulls would touch. "Well since we're talking about things unsaid, you're not exactly in the clear yourself. I saw Ron earlier today."

"He told you?"

"He told me." Harry said, folding his hands across his chest. "Why didn't you tell me Hermione? If you told me, I would have been there for you. I would have came with bags filled with ice cream."

"It wouldn't have been fair to you and I didn't want you to get in trouble with anyone. I'm not a helpless woman that needs you to save her Harry."

"You know I always had a problem with authority. I still do. The worse they could have done was write me up but what worries me Hermione is that you didn't tell me in any of your letters. I may not have replied to all of them but I did read each and every letter... If I've known all those years ago... I would have came back in a heartbeat. Faster than a heartbeat."

"There you go again Harry! Why do I always have to be the one to tell you? Why can't you ask me for once about how I'm doing?"

"Isn't it obvious Hermione? I think it's very pretty obvious." Another voice chimed in. Harry turned around and saw Luna standing by the door looking as serene as ever. "Hello Harry. How are you?"

"I am doing just fine Luna." Harry answered, giving the younger woman a wave. "It's been a while hasn't it?"

"About five years give or take. Are you finally here to tell her?" Luna asked, her hands playing with her corkscrew necklace. "You know it's not great to keep secrets like that. The Nargles feed on your secrets Harry. That's why there are a lot of them down there with the unspeakables."

"I'm not worried too much about Nargles these days." Harry chuckled. "On my travels, I've encountered someone who gave me a recipe to make a very effective Nargle repellent. Hasn't let me down yet."

Luna's eyes widened. "You must tell me where you met this person. Daddy and I would be interested to schedule a visit."

"I'll owl you the address later this week." Harry replied, getting a smile from Luna.

"Wait. What do you mean obvious?" Hermione interrupted. "What am I missing?"

"For someone so smart, you can be very dense sometimes." Luna laughed. "I guess that's one of the reasons why Harry loves you. The poor guy has been in love with you since Hogwarts but he decided to step aside to let Ronald have his chance. I don't know why he would do that. Maybe he's part of a new conspiracy aimed to shake the foundations of Hogwarts..."

"Ah Luna. I wish I could say that I missed your crazy antics but I really can't." Harry commented. The entire time during her explanation, he was trying to signal her to stop, using whatever non-invasion method that he could think off. At one point, his hands did reach for the lamp on Hermione's desk but he quickly decided against it... "When did you get to be so smart?"

"I've always been smart Harry, I just don't flaunt it around. It's more fun like this. We should catch up sometime."

"Why not? I have a pesky problem that I can't seem to run from so once I handle that, I'll let you know."

Luna nodded. "Oh yes, silly me. I forgot the entire reason why I'm here in the first place. I was going to tell you Hermione that I'm going to be gone all week. Going to Switzerland with my father to look for a Crumple-Horned Snorkack. We received several tips that their mating season is only a week away so we're very excited to go."

Harry was left speechless as he watched the younger woman skip out of the room, completely baffled by what happened. He was afraid to turn his attention back to Hermione now that his secret was exposed. This was worse than the time he had to run from blood-thirsty cannibal warriors in Africa.

"Was what she said true?" Hermione asked.

"It doesn't matter Hermione. The past is the past. I don't regret what I did and you shouldn't feel bad over it."

Despite hearing that confession, Hermione couldn't agree with Harry. "If only you were selfish Harry... I would have said yes but you decided to put the needs of others before your own."

The words came out softly and Harry walked over to the window. "I know what I did. I don't need a reminder."

"I know and that's why I love you for that."

Harry's eyes widened but just as he was about to turn around, Hermione wrapped her arms around his neck, capturing his lips in a heated kiss. Harry could feel the passion... the desperation... the love... coming from Hermione and he eventually wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her closer.

For that one moment, he forgot about everything. The looming darkness threatening to destroy his world... the murders taking place... None of that mattered. What does matter was this and only this moment.

Everything else can wait.

* * *

"Why do you always do this to me Potter?!" Draco ran out of the room screaming. He was only supposed to find Harry to get his opinion on the Dark Mark but he ended up with something much worse. "Oh god, the mental images. I can't get them out." He wailed. "Why can't I get them out of my head!?"

"Stop being a baby. It's not like we were doing something that you haven't done with Astoria either." Harry replied, following his partner out. "Do I need to teach you what happens when a witch and wizard gets together?

"What is with you people? Can't you do this within the confinements of your own home!? Have some decency!"

"Technically this is my home." Hermione corrected, a blush still on her face. She was glad that she listened to those impulses. It led her to one amazing kiss that left her wanting more.

"I would rather cut out my own eyes than to watch what might have happened. God, the thought of Potter reproducing is enough to make anyone go celibate."

"You'll get over it." Harry said and gestured for Draco to continue. "So what did you want to tell me? Did you find something about the mark?"

Draco slowly opened his eyes, mentally reminding himself to never walk into a room unannounced again. "No unfortunately. However it was created, I've never seen magic like that before. When we get back, we'll have to get Croaker to take a look but in the meantime, where is that damn artifact. I searched this apartment inside and out and didn't find anything."

"That's because the artifact isn't in the apartment. It's been with Hermione all this time. I hid it in her necklace, that's why our dead thief couldn't find it."

Draco's jaw dropped and then he promptly closed it up. "That's pretty damn smart Potter. I didn't think you had it in you to be so clever."

"He did spend all those years with the smartest witch you know. He's bound to learn something." Hermione chimed in.

"No need to flatter Potter anymore Granger." Draco said, stopping her. "His ego is big enough. Anymore and I'm afraid he might explode."

"I can still kick your ass." Harry countered. "Alright fine you big baby." He turned towards Hermione and smiled. "Can I see that necklace?"

Hermione looked surprise. "This one?" She asked, pulling it out from under her shirt. "Please don't break it. It's actually one of my favorites."

"Why am I not surprised?" Draco muttered which earned him an elbow to his ribs from Harry. "Get on with it Potter. I don't have all day."

"Always so impatient Draco. I wonder if Astoria complains about that." Harry pondered. His hands continued to fiddled with the locket until everyone in the room heard a quiet click. His lips turned upward into a smile as he shook the locket a little and a small stone fell to the floor.

"Why would you hide a rock inside my necklace?" She asked, looking confused.

"Not just any rock Hermione. Let me introduce you to the Resurrection Stone. One of the Deathly Hallows."

"Then that would mean the story isn't just a story..." Hermione's eyes widened, realizing the implications of just holding the stone in her hands. "That would make you..."

"The Master of Death..." Draco finished, his eyes blinking rapidly almost if he was trying to wake himself from this dream. "How is that possible? Why is it even here in the first place?"

"Eh, I suppose I am the Master of Death... but it's more of a title than anything else." Harry said, correcting his audience. He took the stone back and dropped it into his pocket. "It's not glamorous at all. Let me tell you that."

"Focus Harry."

"Damn it Potter. Stop stalling."

Harry was taken back by their outburst but continued with his explanation. "You know, I never understood why everyone keeps dismissing myths as fictional stories. We're wizards for crying out loud. We're able to accomplish things that are deemed impossible by muggle science but when it comes to our own folklore, we're skeptics? For shame guys... For. Shame."

"Just spare me the theatricals. This is good news right? Are we one step closer?"

"No. Not yet." Harry said, shaking his head. "Go back to the office Draco and follow up with the mark. We need to know who we're up against.""

Just hearing about the office elicited a groan from the Malfoy Heir. "Weasley's damn reports. I totally forgot about them." Draco sighed. "This is the worst day of my life."

"Day's not over yet." Harry corrected. He felt the magic that Draco was concentration and knew that he was about to apparate so with a quick movement, he caught Hermione with a surprise kiss, loving the surprise look on her face. He can totally get used to this. "I'll see you soon and we'll talk about this. I swear." He promised just before jumping on Draco's back as they apparated out of the apartment.

Hermione couldn't help but smile as she still felt the warmth on her lips from the kiss. "Yeah... Soon."

* * *

 _Ministry -_ _Department of Magical Law Enforcement_

"That's two times Potter!" Draco screamed as they landed inside the ministry. "For the love of god, why are you doing this?" He pulled out his wand and pointed towards Harry. "You better tell me why you're acting so reckless or so help me, I'm going to put a hole through your chest."

Harry held up his hands. "I'm not crazy Draco. I'm really not. Okay that's a lie. I'm a little crazy but seriously, what's got you so riled up? You can't honestly tell me that you prefer to be stuck behind a desk than to run around with me."

"I would be alive!"

"Alive... Dead... Why does it matter anyway? So what if you're missing a limb. That doesn't mean you stop being who you are."

"You want to see a missing limb Potter? Well you're in luck because I'm five seconds away from ripping off my own arm and beating you senseless with it!"

"I'm starting to think you didn't get enough love as a child Draco." Harry said, now holding up a familiar wand. "I will admit though, the one thing that I do admire about you is that you keep your wand in great condition. I wish I picked up that habit."

"What are you..." Draco then looked down at his clenched hand and saw that his wand was indeed missing. "What the hell? How did you do that? I didn't even feel it disappear."

"Regardless of how I did it, the important question is if you can go on an adventure with a slightly neurotic person." Harry offered the wand back to Draco. "I promise it'll be fun."

"Hell no." Draco snorted, taking his wand back. "Let's be honest here Potter. I was raised by a man who was the right hand to the dark lord. I've seen and done things that would make anyone else think twice but none of those things compare to the times when I apparated with you. I would rather throw myself into a giant meat grinder than risk teaming up with you."

"Never took you for a quitter Draco." Harry commented. "Is it because you need permission from your wife? Is that it? Well that's no big deal. Let me talk to her and I'll get it straightened out in no time."

"I will murder you Potter." Draco warned. "Do you hear me? If you come near her, I will murder you."

Harry chuckled as he left a ranting Draco in the hallway. Regardless of what he was yelling about now, he knew Draco would come around. That's why he chose him in the first place. He needed someone who's been on the other side and Draco was the perfect candidate. Whoever was behind this better watch out because not only is he coming for them, he's bringing friends.

* * *

See you for part 3.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you everyone for being patient with me. I just recently finished up with the other story so I'm continuing with this one. Just to put it out there, I've reread my chapters multiple times, catching errors and correcting them as I go but I'm not perfect.

* * *

 _Ministry -_ _Department of Magical Law Enforcement  
_ _Friday Morning_

It's been three days since Draco last saw Potter. Three whole glorious days without having his life endangered by his ridiculous antics. At first, he wondered if this was some kind of miracle, the work of God himself because if he knew Potter, there was no way that man would miss an opportunity to screw with him. Draco firmly believed that his sole purpose on this planet was to make sure he doesn't get to live an easy life. So what if he used to work under Voldemort? The past was the past and he's more than made up for that mistake. He's proven that time and time again to everyone that he's a changed man.

So when Friday rolled around, Draco was more than convince that this was truly his reward for not straying away from his path. That God himself has forgiven him for his sins. "So this is what it feels like to have good karma." Draco proclaimed, letting out a little hum as he strolled over to Weasley's office. He knocked twice before opening the door. "Those reports that you wanted are done Weasley."

His attitude did a quick 360 and the smile that he had plastered on his face quickly turned into a scowl. "I knew karma was a bitch." Draco muttered, recognizing the person sitting lazily on the chair. "Of all the people working in this building, why does it have to be you?"

Even without seeing the man's face, the hair alone was a dead giveaway. The jet-black, messy hair. Only one person in the world has something like that and it belonged to the very last person he wanted to see before his weekend. His weekend that was now filled with alcohol.

"Draco buddy! I missed you!" Harry stated, turning around in his chair. "Come on, bring it in. I know you missed me too."

"Why are you here Potter...?" Draco said through clenched teeth. "Don't you have a country to blow up or something?"

Ron cleared his throat and took the files from Draco. "Impeccable timing as always Malfoy." He dryly said. "I was just in the middle of a meeting with Harry and it seems like you're the answer to our problem."

"Come again?" Draco asked, still not understanding what just happened. "No never mind. If it has anything to do with Potter, I am out. I refuse to work with that maniac. He tried to kill me twice already. Twice in one day!"

"Don't be such a big baby. Try having Tommy after you for seventeen years." Harry snorted, rolling his eyes at the blatant accusation. "Compared to him, what I did was minuscule. Like an ant." He held up his fingers to emphasis his point.

"I'll kill you Potter. I swear I'll finish the job that every Death Eater wanted to do."

"That is enough!" Ron yelled, slamming his hand on the table. "Both of you are grown ass men." He then stopped in the middle of sentence and then shook his head. "Somewhat grown ass men but I do not need you to behave like spoil brats. Harry, apologize to Draco for almost trying to kill him."

"Twice! It was twice!" Draco ranted but a glare from Ron cut him off.

"You can't be serious." Harry started saying, "He's an Auror, he should be aware of the risk while out on the field."

"Apologize." Ron growled, his patience growing thin. "Or I will deny this and every single request from this point forward Harry. And remember, you need this more than I do."

Just hearing that made Draco a little giddy inside. If there was something that he consider himself good at, it was annoying Potter. "Yeah Potter, apologize to me." He said in a mocking tone. "Be sure to speak up because I want it to be able to hear it clearly."

"You apologize as well Draco." Ron interrupted. "It takes two to create this shitstorm and I don't have all day to babysit your problems so I'm only going to say this once. I don't give a damn what the issue is between you two. I don't care if he did that or you did this. All I care about is the results and if you two can't deliver those results, I will find two other people who can and will do a better job."

"Sorry Potter." Draco mumbled, staring at the floor.

"I'm sorry as well." Harry muttered, his eyes glaring at Ron. "There. Are you satisfied?" He gestured. "Can we get on with it?"

Ron rolled his eyes but accepted their half-hearted apology. "Now before I was rudely interrupted Malfoy, I was in the middle of having a discussion with Harry to see what the best course of action was. He came to me proposing a joint operation to investigate the case that you picked up earlier this week. The one with the dead smugglers. Harry believes that there is a link between them and wanted more time to explore that theory of his. Normally I would tell him to stop wasting my resources but the Minister also heard about this... incident... and is urging for us to quickly close this case before the media gets wind of it."

Draco could feel his stomach dropping, and he mentally started praying. ' _God, Big G, All-mighty Creator, Lord of my soul... Please don't let Weasley finish that thought.'_

"With that said, seeing as how you were the lead investigator on this case, it's only fitting that you get to work with Harry to quickly resolve this matter. If this goes smoothly, I will officially appoint you as the ambassador between our two departments. It will be a promotion and you'll be able to work with Harry full time, handling extremely sensitive cases from both the Minister and myself."

 _'Damn it to high hell!'_ Draco inwardly cursed. His mind quickly went through numerous excuses in order to get out of his futile arrangement. "My wife's pregnant!" He blurted out. "I'm not allowed to leave her side!"

"What are you talking about Malfoy?" Ron asked, "Lavender just saw her yesterday. She didn't mention anything about having children."

"Ah I mean she wants me to take vacation days so we can get her good and pregnant."

"You know I can always step in if needed..." Harry said suggestively, winking at Draco. "You know I'll always be there for her..."

"I swear if you touch her, nothing on this planet can stop me from killing you." Draco threatened, his hand slowly reaching for his wand. He turned to Weasley and pointed at Potter. "See? Do you see why I can't work with him? I'll end up killing him!"

"Doesn't matter. I made my mind. You and Harry will be partners until this is over." Ron said, finalizing his decision. "I am also authorized to tell you both that any plans involving personal time off is currently suspended until this case is resolved."

"You can't be serious!"

Harry jumped to his feet, patting Draco on the shoulders. "Boss man has spoken Draco. I was originally going to force you to work with me but this turned out even better than I've planned. Now that it's a direct order from your superior, you can't tell your wife that I kidnapped you or something so I still have a clean slate!"

"A clean slate?" Draco all but asked. He was deeply afraid of his answer. "What clean slate?"

"It means your wife won't be blaming me for any harm that befalls you!" Harry cheerfully said. "Now we need to pick up one more person for our team. A researcher to be exact."

Draco sighed. "Who is the poor, unfortunate soul that you managed to swindle to join your pointless crusade?"

"It's Hermione." Harry smiled, already walking to the door. "She kindly volunteered her services as a researcher but that comes later. I still have one lead to check out first before we leave London."

"You have sources?" Draco asked, his interest peaked. "Do I want to know who they are?"

Harry thought about it for a minute before shaking his head. "It's better that you don't so you have plausible deniability in the event that this goes south and I assure you, this will go south."

Draco wanted to say something but wisely closed his mouth. He resigned to his fate and just walked out the door, already knowing that it was already too late to turn back.

"You better bring him back in one piece Harry!" Ron shouted as he watched their retreating backs. He scratched his head, "I hope I didn't make a mistake." He muttered.

* * *

 _Inverness, Scotland_

"Why are we here? Of all the places in the world we could have gone to, you led us here?" Draco moaned, casting a warming charm on himself. It was already nightfall and the only light source they had was the lumos spell that he was currently casting. "You said it would be a quick stop Potter! An hour tops you said!"

"It is... I just sort of, forgot the way."

"You forgot?" Draco angrily stuttered out. "How can you forget? You have a damn map for crying out loud!"

"Instead of complaining, why don't you do something productive and help me look for some trail markers."

"We're in a god forsaken forest, filled with hundreds upon hundreds of trees. There must be a billion trail markers from people who come here regularly!"

Harry scratched his head, holding the map closer to the light source. He pointed to a spot on the map that had a big red x on it. "Look, I know this is not how you wanted to spend your Friday night but come on Draco, can't you sense the adventure? The excitement? I promise that if we don't find anything in the next hour, I'll take you back to your loving wife."

"I can find my own way home thank you very much." Draco replied. "Give me the damn map Potter. Honestly, can you even read one?"

"Of course I can." Harry argued, "I got us this far didn't I?"

Draco couldn't argue with that. He yanked the map out of Harry's hand and then stared at it. By his calculations, they should be approaching the target site now but something doesn't seem right. They were supposed to have walk past a big rock foundation minutes ago but he didn't notice any kind of weird rock structure. He looked up from the map and saw Harry frowning at him.

"What?" He snapped. "What's the matter now?"

"Quiet." Harry hissed, "And kill the lights. We're not alone."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Of course we're not alone you buffoon. We're in a forest filled with animals and lest you forget, we're wizards. We have magic." He ignored the serious look on Harry's face and continued walking, oblivious to his surroundings. "If you can just stop fooling around for even a second Potter, I think we can do find this location."

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Exactly and that's because you're not me." Draco retorted. He continued walking until he bumped into something hard. "What the hell?" He muttered and looked up. What he saw next gave him an idea of why Potter was so serious before. "What... are you?"

"Your executioner." The guy mumbled. He took out a wand but before he could get out even a syllable, Harry came charging in, tackling the guy to the ground. They struggled for a few seconds before pushing each other away.

Harry retreated back to help Draco up. "I told you to kill your lights before. Everything would be a lot easier if you only listened to me."

"I hate you so much right now Potter." Draco said. "Why are there always people after you!?"

Ignoring Draco's remarks, Harry stared at their would-be assailant. "Who are you? Why have you been following us?"

"Our master wants your head Harry Potter."

"Our?" Draco and Harry said at the same time. They then looked around as more figures in dark robes emerged from the night, wands in their hands. Draco wasted no time and started throwing banishing curses out. "Run Potter!"

The pair quickly backtracked, running back the way they just came. From the corner of his eye, Harry could see that they were seriously outnumbered. Spell started flying over their heads and he pulled Draco to the left to take cover behind some trees.

Draco was panting heavily. Between running and throwing out spells, his stamina was quickly taking a hit. He then noticed that his partner didn't even have his wand out. "What the hell Potter! Where's your wand?"

"Don't have it." Harry responded, trying to take a peak. He pulled his head back in time to avoid a cutting curse to the face. He let out a small whistle as he inspected the damage done. "Those people aren't normal. There is no way a person can continuously fire off spells with so much power without growing tired."

"I refuse to die here knowing that you're the last person I'm going to see." Draco snarled. "Take this spare wand and don't stop firing until every one of them is dead!" He pushed the wand into Harry's hand and then jumped out, throwing exploding hexes at everything in a dark robe.

"Let's just apparate out of here." Harry suggested instead, peaking his head out from the side again. They were seriously outnumber and he couldn't accurately gauge how many of them are out there.

"Can't. They came prepared." Draco yelled, pulling himself back behind the rock for some cover. He continued to breathe heavily. "Why aren't you helping me?" He panted. His eyes soon widened. "I'm so stupid... I can't believe I didn't see it..."

"See what?"

"This is a trap. MacBay was correct." Draco exclaimed, now pointing his wand at Harry. "You are a traitor. You wanted this to happen."

"Hey hey. Wait a minute Draco." Harry said, holding up his hands. "I am not a traitor nor did I lure you into this trap."

"Why should I believe anything you say Potter? There's no way for me to know if you were telling the truth or not."

"Because of that you idiot." Harry diverted Draco's attention to one of the figures approaching from the East. "That was one of the guys you hit with an exploding curse but look at his chest. If I had a wound like that, I would definitely not be walking, let alone standing. Something strange is going on."

Draco snatched his spare wand back and growled. "So what, we can continue to blast those _things_ until they are no longer moving. Can I trust you with my spare wand Potter?"

"It's useless to me." Harry replied. "I won't be able to use it."

"Cut the bullshit Potter. I've seen your magic first hand. You have more magic than anyone in the past twenty years so take the goddamn wand before I glue it to your hand!"

"I can't!"

"Take the wand or I'm going to kill you." Draco threatened. "I am not dying to some no-name dark wizards tonight!"

"I don't have my magic anymore Draco." Harry explained. "I lost it a few years ago."

Draco's jaw dropped and then everything suddenly clicked. Memories came rushing into his head and it was clear as day. The reason why Harry dropped out of Auror Academy and disappeared. The reason why he jumped on him when he apparated. Everything finally made sense. There were so many questions he wanted to ask but a loud explosion diverted his attention. He quickly snapped into Auror mode and calculated several things.

They were outnumbered and he was a man down. The odds are certainly stacked against him.

"Stand behind me Potter. Our makeshift cover will not last another blast so on my count, you're going to run to the left into those trees and get some help. I will draw their focus so take this chance and run. I'll do my best to survive until help arrives."

"Let's get one thing straight Malfoy." Harry shoved Draco against the rock. "I never asked for your help. Just because I don't have my magic does not mean you get to treat me like some kind of handicap. Do you understand me?"

"Piss off Potter!" Draco angrily yelled. "You ungrateful bastard. I'm trying to save your life here so stop being an asshole and just follow my plan."

"Did you forget Draco? Even without my magic, I'm Harry Potter and I don't lose."

Despite his insistence, Harry ran out from behind the rock and Draco face-palmed. He was trying to protect the idiot but before he could talk some sense into him, the next few minutes left him speechless. His eyes were unable to comprehend what was even going on. He looked on as Harry ran towards the assailants and with just a few moves, their bodies dropped to the ground, twitching but not getting back up. Harry continued running towards them, dropping them one by one. The moves he was doing didn't make sense at all. How could he have immobilize them with a few punches?

"How the hell..." Draco muttered. If Potter was dangerous before with magic, he shuddered to think just how dangerous he is now. The man was more nimble, more flexible than before. He still remembered the man who brought down Voldemort but this guy right here... everything in his body was telling him to be wary of him. His instincts screamed danger.

It didn't take long for Harry to come back around, dusting his hands off. "I told you I don't lose."

"You owe me some answers Potter."

Harry sighed. "Do we need to do this now? I can debrief you later but we need to move now. There's no telling just how many of them are out there."

"Then just tell me how you did that."

"You would be surprised just how far along Muggles have come Draco. I learned it from a man in Japan who specialized in martial arts. If our kind weren't so close-minded, we could have achieved so much more."

"Spare me the sales pitch and let's just get out of here."

Harry chuckled. "Fine but I promise that I'll tell you the truth after this Draco. You deserve that at least."

* * *

 _Thirty Minutes Later_

"I take it back. I don't want to know anymore." Draco protested. "I decided that I'm going to be the bigger man and let your secrets be _your_ secrets. My life is probably safer that way." The last part he muttered under his breath.

"Flattered but if we're going to be trusting each other, you might as well know." Harry explained. They continued hiking up this abandoned path but they were close. So close that he could feel it in his stomach. "There. I see it." He gestured to a dark shape hidden behind a grove of trees. "I think that's it."

Draco squinted his eyes. "Are you sure Potter? It doesn't look like anything to me."

"Trust me, that's it." Harry shouted as he ran past Draco. "Hurry up or I'm going to leave you behind."

It took another ten minutes before they cleared the grove of trees but when they got closer, the dark shape turned into a cabin that seen better days. Draco took out his wand and cast several detection spells, making sure that it wasn't booby-trapped. After giving the all-clear, Harry walked closer to the cabin, inspecting it as he went. He noticed that this cabin must have been abandoned years ago as nature started to reclaim the land back.

He walked up the stairs and peeked into the dusty window. When he was satisfied that no one was there, he reached for the doorknob and with a firm shake, he broke the lock and forced his way into the cabin.

"You know I could have just unlocked it right?"

Harry shrugged, "My way's more efficient."

Draco sighed as he entered the house after Harry. "Doesn't look like anyone's lived here in years, judging by the thick layer of dust on the kitchen counter." He saw Potter stopping at the entry way into the living room and furrowed his brow. "What's the matter? Did you find something?" He asked.

"Yeah... I found it alright." Harry said, waving him over. "I think you need to see this."

Draco went over to see what the big surprise was and when he got there, he understood why Harry stood there in shock. The entire living room was covered with newspaper clippings of Harry. From the first time he entered Hogwarts to his most recent tabloids in the papers. He let out a small whistle to indicate his surprise.

"Why does it always have to be me?" Harry groaned. "Did I do something to piss someone off in my last life? Is this payback? I mean come on! I already dealt with a dark lord problem. Let someone else have a turn." He whined.

Draco walked around the living room, his eyes picking up on the dates from the clippings. "I say you got a stalker Potter and not the hot kind. This person is meticulous..."

"Not a word to anyone." Harry warned. His eyes scanned through the pictures and landed on one that had a big red circle around it. It depicted a familiar spot that made his blood turn cold. "Son of a bitch. He has it. That bastard discovered it!" He shouted, ripping the picture off the wall. "We need to leave NOW!"

"He? How do you know it's a he?" Draco asked, snatching the picture out of Harry's hand. "Why does this look so familiar?"

"That's Hogwarts and we need to go." Harry urged. "Come on, apparate!"

"Woah slow down Potter. What did you hide in Hogwarts?"

"The Elder Wand." Harry said, grabbing onto Draco's shoulder. "I buried it with Dumbledore because it was his to begin with."

"You IDIOT!" Draco roared. "You buried a dangerous artifact in a place surrounded by young children? What were you even thinking?"

"Less talking, more apparating!" Harry snapped.

Draco uttered a low growl before complying and apparated from Scotland. It took them a few hops but eventually they made it back to Hogwarts. Draco dropped to the ground, panting for air. "Just go and make sure it's still there. I will catch up in a second." He gestured.

Harry nodded and ran ahead. It didn't take him long to reach the grave but when he got there, it wasn't as he remembered it. There was a giant hole where Dumbledore's coffin used to be and he could surmise that whoever did this was in a hurry so they didn't care about respecting the dead. He walked closer and saw that the coffin was ripped open and the wand no longer there.

"Damn it!" Harry yelled. One of the Deathly Hallows was now in the hands of the enemy so that means only one piece remain. The last piece was his father's cloak and he hid that years ago. He turned around and saw Draco lightly jogging over. "We're too late, the wand's gone."

"So what's the plan now?" Draco asked as he stared at the damage. "We have no suspects and we're already down one artifact. If they get their hands on the last one, are we screwed?"

"I don't know." Harry said, scratching his head. He saw the look that Draco was giving him and he shrugged. "What? I'm new to this as well. You can't expect me to have all the answers."

"Why do I suddenly feel to urge to just run away?"

"Don't be such a worrywart Draco." Harry cheekily replied. "You're alive so far aren't you? Take some pride in that."

* * *

 _Hermione's flat, Central London_

After explaining to Hermione about their current predicament, the only thing that she could do is stare at Harry and Draco with an exhausted expression. "Is that everything?" She asked, rubbing her eyes together. "Why does it feel like you're still hiding something from me Harry?"

"Well did you know that he's lost-"

"My marbles? Way to be mature Draco." Harry interrupted, elbowing him in the ribs. "I swear that you know what I know." He ignored the angry look from Draco and focused on Hermione. "You know that I would never jeopardize your life like Draco's. There's a billion people like Draco out there but there's only one Hermione and it would take a thousand of him to just replace you." He reached for her hand and interlocked their fingers. "When I asked you to join me for this adventure, I was serious. I want you to come on board as a researcher and nothing more. You have myself and Draco as fighters, movers, meat shields if need be."

"Still the charmer aren't you Harry?" Hermione blushed, tearing her eyes away from him. "So let's just assume that your story is true. Where do we even start? We have the stone and whoever blew up Dumbledore's grave has the wand. If the stories about the Deathly Hallows are true, that means there is only one more artifact left. Your invisibility cloak."

"Yes but that's the tricky part. I actually don't have it on me. I gave it to someone to hide."

"Fantastic." Hermione muttered, "Are you just expecting a repeat of what happened with my apartment Harry?"

"Come on Hermione, I said I was sorry. I did pay for everything that was broken though." Harry protested. "And plus, I know where our grave robber is going so we might even beat them there."

Hermione and Draco's ears perked up. "How do you know that Potter?" Draco asked. "Are you withholding evidence from an Auror?"

"I found a map." Harry casually announced as he pulled out a folded up map. He opened the piece of paper and spread it evenly across the table.

"Tell me you didn't swipe the evidence from the house."

"Then don't ask questions that you don't want the answer to!" Harry shot back. "Besides, who said that I couldn't take it? It wasn't like it was an active crime scene or anything. We were there following a hunch and I merely borrowed a piece of paper without realizing the importance of it."

"Why do I even bother?" Draco said, turning his attention to Hermione. "So where are we heading to next?"

"Japan." Hermione pointed out. "I don't know where exactly though. There's not enough information for me to get an accurate location on."

"Oh that's a coincidence Potter. You've been to Japan before right? That's the place where you learned to do that."

"Learned to do what?" Hermione asked, confusion written across her face. "Did you pick up a new skill Harry?"

"I learned about tea pouring." Harry quickly answered and then yanked Draco out of his seat. "Excuse us for a minute Hermione. I need to speak to Draco privately. We'll be back in a second."

Hermione just nodded her head, her attention returning back to the map. Harry pulled Draco into the hallway and punched him in the arm. "What the hell Potter?" Draco cried, rubbing his arm to numb the pain. "That was uncalled for."

"What I told you earlier is between us." Harry hissed, his eyes flickering back and forth between Hermione and the kitchen door. "There's a reason why I haven't confirmed nor denied my condition Draco. If people find out that I really lost my magic, can you imagine who will be coming out to extract their justice?"

"Spare me your selfish ideology Potter. I won't risk her life just so you can keep your little secret. She has a right to know." Draco argued. "If you won't tell her, I will."

"I'll tell her when the time is right."

"Spoken like a true self-righteous git." Draco snorted. He tried to push his way out of the hallway but he felt Harry grabbing his wrist. "You better let go." he warned.

"No." Harry answered and then with one swift move, he flipped Draco upside down, pinning him to the floor. "You and I are the only two people in this world that knows the truth about me and I intend to keep it that way. Look, I know how bad this sounds but you'll just have to trust me alright?"

"It's hard to trust you when you're holding me against my will." Draco muttered, trying really hard not to scream from the pain. "Just let me go Potter."

"Pinky swear that you won't tell?"

"Yes yes! With all my fingers and toes!" Draco snapped, "Now get off me."

* * *

 _Harry's Apartment, Herne Hill,_ _London_

After what happened today, Harry was ready to hit the bed. There was just so much to do and his biggest worry that he wasn't going to make it there in time. Whoever he was up against, they weren't normal. It was someone who planned this from the very beginning and the idea of that made him sick to his stomach.

Harry went into his bathroom to wash his face, hoping that the cold water would wake him up. A few splashes to the face usually helps but after the third time, he stopped and stared into the mirror. His eyes drifted down to his chest and noticed a dark spot in the center. He raised his hand slowly to inspect it but found his chest to be clean, spot free but it was clearly there in the mirror.

Harry blinked a couple of times and ran his hand against the glass, wondering if it was just dirty and his eyes was playing tricks on him but that wasn't the case. He shifted his body sideways and the spot moved with him. "What the hell?" He whispered. He blinked again and instead of seeing his handsome face, he saw death standing behind him. He quickly turned around and saw nothing there.

His memories flashed back to Africa where he met a village shaman. He didn't know what compelled him to listen to the medicine man but he was glad he did. The shaman shouted for his attention, warning him that there was something dark, something evil trying to get into his body. The man eventually threw some water at Harry and performed a quick purification ceremony. Throughout the entire ordeal, the shaman kept poking him in the chest, mumbling something that Harry couldn't understand.

It was in that same exact spot where the shaman poked that the spot appeared. His finger moved upward towards his chest, almost touching the black spot. "I guess that old man wasn't a quack after all." Harry mused. "I suppose this is only fitting. I started off by cheating death once and it looks like she's coming to collect..."

* * *

Adventure continues to kick off with Harry and the Gang! I wonder what troubles they'll find in Japan.


End file.
